NCCS submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the proposed rule that addresses Medicare Part B payment policies for 2014. In its comments, NCCS commended CMS for its efforts to foster care management, including codes for transitional care management which were implemented in 2013. In the current proposed rule, CMS […]
NCCS joined its colleagues in the Cancer Leadership Council in publishing a statement of principles to guide reform of Medicare payment for cancer care. Major news outlets have suggested that Medicare beneficiaries are not receiving their cancer care due to the 2% cuts in Medicare payments required under the sequestration. NCCS and other cancer advocates […]
NCCS Senior Policy Advisor Ellen Stovall’s advice for immediate reform of cancer care was published in a letter to the editor of the New York Times on April 1, 2013. Letters from Ms. Stovall and four other writers commented on an opinion piece by Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel and others, published in the Times on […]
In a recent New York Times Opinionator essay, Ezekiel J. Emanuel is joined by more than 20 prominent members of the oncology community in outlining five major changes to be made to the health care system to ensure sustainability of care. This year, more than 1.6 million Americans — 0.5 percent of the population — will receive […]
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Hagop Kantarjian, Leonard Zwelling, and Tito Fojo offer a perspective on cancer drug prices as well as advice on how to reduce prices. In his book “Justum Pretium,” Aristotle discusses the relationship between price and worth, a topic continued 16 centuries later by Albert the Great and […]
NCCS joined colleagues in the cancer advocacy community in submitting comments regarding proposed standards for the expanded Medicaid program that was established by the Affordable Care Act. The rules that have been proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would grant a state great flexibility in the design of its Medicaid program, if […]
In an online “Opinionator” piece in the New York Times, Ezekiel J. Emanuel makes a case for bending the health care cost curve to spur economic growth. Dr. Emanuel reminds the reader the bending the cost curve means preventing the day when health care spending reaches $4 trillion annually, compared to $2.8 trillion last year, […]
In an editorial published in the January 2, 2013, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Theodore Lawrence and Mary Feng discuss a recent study that compared proton radiotherapy and photon radiotherapy for treatment of prostate cancer in Medicare patients. Lawrence and Feng identify the shortcomings of the retrospective, population-based study of the […]
